Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,

Monday, July 13, 2026

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I never did give anybody hell. I just told the truth and they thought it was hell. - Harry S Truman

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Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 4 - 26: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 26: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon

Latest completed racing:

• July 8 - 12: Tour of Austria
• June 24 - 28: National Championshps
• June 17 - 21: Tour de Suisse
• June 17 - 21: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 7 - 14: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
• June 14: Copenhagen Sprint
• June 14: GP Gippingen/Canton Aargau
• June 10: Circuit Franco-Belge
• June 7: Brussels Cycling Classic
• June 1 - 5: Ethias-Tour de Wallone
• May 8 - 31: Giro d'Italia

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Tour de France stage nine reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the Tour de France stage nine report from fifth-place Filippo Ganna's Team Netcompany INEOS:

Filippo Ganna sprinted to fifth place at the Tour de France as he led the peloton home on stage nine.

In sweltering conditions, Netcompany INEOS took on the heat-shortened stage, with an aggressive performance across the 154.6 kilometres.

After a number of early breakaway attempts, the team then set about trying to bring the remaining escapees back in a bid to set up Ganna at the finish in Ussel.

Ganna eventually crossed the line ahead of green jersey holder Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), but a tantalising six seconds short of the breakaway. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Premier Tech) held on to take the victory in the four-up sprint.

Filippo Ganna wins the field sprint for fifth place. Sirotti photo

Kevin Vauquelin and Tobias Foss combined on the run-in in a bid to shut down the remnants of the day's main breakaway. A high pace early on saw a number of moves try and fail to go clear, with Netcompany INEOS full of attacking intent. Vauquelin, Ganna, Dorian Godon and Michal Kwiatkowski were all involved in breakaway attempts, before Foss did eventually push clear in a group of 16 with 90km to go.

Here's the Tour report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike came through the ninth stage of the Tour de France without any problems. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard reached the finish in the company of his teammates in a scorching hot Ussel. Mathieu van der Poel claimed victory from the breakaway.

The ninth stage, which was shortened by 30 kilometres due to the extreme heat, saw a long battle to make the breakaway of the day. Matteo Jorgenson tried several times to get away, but was not given any space. Shortly afterwards, a group of sixteen riders managed to create a gap.

Among those sixteen, Van der Poel, Alex Baudin, Tobias Johannessen and Tom Pidcock proved to be the strongest. Van der Poel eventually crossed the finish line first, narrowly holding off the reduced peloton, which included Vingegaard, Davide Piganzoli and Sepp Kuss. Vingegaard heads into the rest day as the rider in second place overall.

Jonas Vingegaard heads to the start of stage nine. Sirotti photo

"Jonas came through today’s stage well. Despite the tough race and the hot conditions, he still looked quite fresh. The same applied to the other riders," sports director Marc Reef said. "The pace was high from start to finish. UAE Team Emirates kept control for a long time after the breakaway had gone clear. We were always there with Jonas, who was well protected by his teammates."

According to Reef, Vingegaard has come through the first nine stages well. "Although we have had a tough first week with the weather conditions, we can look back on this first block positively. After the rest day, we will continue with confidence."

And here's the Tour de France stage nine report from Ilan Van Wilder's Team Soudal Quick-Step:

The only day that the bunch got to spend this year in the Massif Central was shortened due to the extreme heat by the organizer, who also decided to extend the time limit. The four climbs on the 154.6km course - Côte de Naves, Suc au May, Côte de la Croix du Pey and Mont Bessou - were too hard for the sprinters but too easy for the general classification men, meaning the opportunity was perfect for a breakaway to take the spoils.

Valentin Paret-Peintre was among those who tried to book a place there, not once but twice, only for the peloton to react each time and bring back those moves. Eventually, more than 70 kilometers into the stage, a large group managed to ride clear, and from there, a handful of riders attacked in the final part of the stage and ended up fighting for victory.

Ilan Van Wilder concluded in Ussel - a stage finish for the first time in the history of the Tour de France - together with the yellow jersey group and retained his place in the overall standings going into the first rest day.

Mathieu van der Poel wins stage nine. Sirotti photo

“We went full gas the entire time, and especially until a breakaway formed, as so many people wanted to be there. At the same time, some of the guys in the peloton who had some speed were still thinking about the stage, so they kept pushing the entire time until the finish. After a day like today, we’re really looking forward to the rest day”, Ilan said after the stage.

Tour of Austria stage five reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the final Tour of Austria report from Kevin Vermaerke's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

At the Tour of Austria, Kevin Vermaerke finished safely inside the peloton on the fifth and final stage. In doing so, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider was able to cement his place in second overall in the final general classification, marking his best result to date for the Emirati squad.

A winter transfer from Picnic PostNL, Vermaerke has really found his feet in the colors of UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and the American was consistent throughout the week at the Tour of Austria.

Beginning with second in the opening stage, the man from the States went on to take third place on stage 2 and second once more on stage 4. With this string of strong results, Vermaerke takes home the points jersey for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

On the final stage in Austria, Vermaerke’s teammate António Morgado was the strongest finisher. Well shepherded by his teammates all afternoon, the young Portuguese rider sprinted to ninth across the line, bringing the curtain down on the 2026 Tour of Austria.

Sam Watson (on right) wins the final stage of the 2026 Tour of Austria. 

Reflecting on his week after the stage, Vermaerke could take pride in the team’s attitude and togetherness across the five days. With the points jersey and second overall, the 25-year-old shone brightly each and every day.

Vermaerke: “It was a good week and it was pretty cool for me to have all the guys really commit and race all-out for me. I think the support of the team this week was top-notch. We had a lot of second places, and unfortunately, we didn’t come away with the stage win or the GC title, but we can be proud of how we raced. We have no regrets.

“For me, it’s good to see that my shape is getting better and my experience in these races is getting me closer and closer to that first pro win. So I am going to have to keep chasing it for a little bit longer! I am leaving the race feeling really proud of the team – we secured the points jersey and second on GC.

“I had hoped for a win but Gregor [Mühlberger] was super strong for the GC, so chapeau to him.”